While the KIPO “super speed” program boasts examination results in just one month, many important clean tech categories are not eligible for the fast track.

Rather, the vast majority of clean technologies are eligible only if the invention has “received financial support or certification from the government.”

These include renewables such as solar, wind, geothermal, tidal, wave energy, biofuels, energy storage technologies such as advanced batteries, as well as carbon capture and storage technologies, LED lighting, and personal transportion technologies such as hybrid cars and plug-in hybrids.

I asked Terry Kang, a Korean patent attorney and Partner at the Kasan IP & Law Firm in Seoul, how an applicant could get certified pursuant to the KIPO fast track program requirements.